Blog for Choice 2013: To all the ladies...

Thomas Dohle, Guest Blogger (Boston University School of Medicine, '16, Medical Students for Choice)
This post is part of Blog for Choice 2013, launched by Boston Students for Sexual and Reproductive Justice (BSSRJ)

To all the ladies out there on this 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade:

I want you to know that not all men look down on you for considering or having an abortion, for using Plan B when plan A failed, for taking a handful of condoms from the bowl on the bar, or for visiting a family planning doctor at Planned Parenthood. Not all men think that you are a slut or a whore or a tramp if you have multiple sexual partners. Not all men participate in the double standard.

Some of us applaud you for being brave and grasping that autonomy that modern medicine allows. Some of us cheer you on for your decision to admit that you are not mature enough or financially stable enough or just plain not ready to be a mother. Some of us believe that sexual expression is a healthy part of humanity, regardless of your gender. 

Some of us are infuriated at the attempts by the religious right and the GOP to limit your liberties. Some of us are shaking our fists at the ignorant protestors standing outside abortion clinics. Some of us are angered by the misinformation being spread. Some of us mobilized to keep more of those people from being voted into elective office.

Some of us believe in science and medicine. Some of us shape our politics and virtues around human compassion and the belief that every human life is equal. Some of us don't grasp one or two lines of antiquated literature and use it to try to control you.

Some of us realize that gender equality is not possible without reproductive autonomy. Some of us are aware that women can become enslaved by unwanted pregnancy, forced or arranged marriage, rape, and incest. Some of us are willing to proudly walk into that clinic with you, arm in arm, and stare down the faces of hatred that oppose you.

Some of us are ready to stand next to our friends, sisters, and mothers.

Not all men look down on you. And I'm proud to say that I'm one of them.